Review : Schwarzkopf Extra Care Cell Repair Mask

I picked this up from one of Ho Chi Minh's supermarkets when I was there in July. Quite an unlikely place to get beauty products but thats certainly what I did. lol.
Most of the words are in Vietnamese language but from the name, I guess its a hair treatment mask. I am currently using it as a daily hair conditioner.
There is a lovely fragrance, the texture is like a moussy cream and its quite a breeze to apply on the hair ends. However, I actually do not feel any significant difference on my hair with this mask, as compared to other hair masks.

Review : Kiehl's Ultimate White Brightening Cleansing Cream

Product Description
Dermatologist Solutions Ultimate White Brightening Cleansing Cream breaks down pigmentation clusters and inhibit melanin formation for brighter and more translucent skin, the collection is made from stabilised Vitamin C, Plum Fruit Extract and other Botanicals. It also contains light reflecting minerals such as Mica, Titanium and Bismuth Oxychloride that brighten skin for a more radiant, porcelain-like complexion.

Boyish and cute looking Kiehl's Boys are always found fronting their stores to give away complimentary samples. And on one of my trips to town, I was given a 5ml complimentary sample from them.

This product is touted to remove unwanted skin-surface impurities, minimize the appearance of pores and promotes a brighter appearance as it draws away dead surface skin cells. Complexion is notably brighter with a more even and luminuous tone.

A little goes a long way and one 5ml sachet was able to last me for about 10 times of usages. It lathers prety well too. I have been using it as night cleanser lately. The texture and colour reminded me vaguely of Loreal foam cleansers which always left my skin feeling taut. My first usage of this cream does just that. It left my hands feeling slightly tight and my face feeling slightly dry.

I skipped it for 3 days and continued using it thereafter, just to be sure that its the cleanser.
Surprisingly, there was no tight feeling on the face after that 3 days. My hands still feel slightly dry and taut, with those squeaky-clean feeling.

However, my skin was softer, smoother and looks slightly brighter. The pores on my nose seems almost smaller as the blackheads seem less obvious. I am actually quite surprised by the results as I do not really have a positive result for any foam cleanser. Unfortunately, I do dislike the tight feeling on my hands after each cleansing routine so its not a cleanser which i would get.

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Review : Its Skin Collagen Eye Mask Sheet

Product Description
Collagen keeps your skin  clean, soft, elastic and helps your skin moisturised. Its designed to smooth the complexion while reducing the appearance of discoloration.

This brand is generally considered as one of those premium brands if compared to The Face Shop, Skin Food, Missha, etc. Its not available locally and I bought 5sheets when I was in Korea.

Its packaged in a clampshell type of packaging and each pair of masks are just moist enough for about 1 hour of usage. The sheet is quite thin and slippery. There is a chemical scent but nothing too overpowering.

If used on normal weekdays when I have less than 7 hours of sleep, there is not much improvement.
However, I do notice a big improvement when I have more than 8 hours of sleep over the weekends, and if combined with a good concealer and make-up, my eye bags, puffiness and dark circles are well hidden underneath.
A keeper, when you have rested days which people hardly have, nowadays.

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Review : Estee Lauder Cyber White Ex Extra Intensive UV Protector SPF50/PA+++

Product Description
Extra gentle and fast-absorbing. Ensures a brighter, flawless future for your skin. Empowered with anti-oxidant protection and anti-irritants.

This 15ml sunscreen was one of the complimentary gifts when I bought Estee Lauder products quite some time ago. I am quite impressed that it boast of quite high sun protection factor and with PA+++ too.

As you may know, SPF refers to the amount of protection from UVB rays which causes burning on the skin.
PA protects against UVA rays which causes aging. Hence the more "plus" on the PA refers to a better sunscreen protection against UVA rays.

In this sunscreen, I can see that I will be in safe hands since it has SPF50 and PA+++. However, usually such sunscreens tends to fall into the greasy texture category so how does this UV protector fares then?

The texture is surprisingly less greasy than what I would have associated with SPF50. It falls between light to medium greasy texture. However the scent is geared towards the sunblock fragrance which can be a huge turn-off for some people.

It does not absorb into the skin that fast, leaving a sticky film after my moisturiser for a while. Oh, but there is no white cast though, if thats your concern.

However, its not on my list of favourite sunscreen though, as I still prefer something that is lightweight and without any greasy or sticky feel but I definitely do feel reassured by its high protection factor.

Check out the latest improved formula HERE and get free standard shipping with every order.

Review : Etude House Aqua Sherbet Gel Cream

Product Description

Oil-Free gel texture cools and replenishes sun and heat damaged skin.

I received two trial samples from my sister and have been using them recently. It lasted for about 3 weeks or so. Needless to say, it has the same heavy fragrance as the rest of the products in the same Aqua Sherbet line-up. The texture of this product, however is thicker than the lotion which I have reviewed before, which is not surprising if you do take their words to heart " Gel-cream".

Their main ingredient is the mineral rich glacier water from Alaska, supposingly filled with minerals which are good for the skin.

Its a light moisturiser, probably perfect for those with oily skin or normal skin who do not need too much hydrating properties. But for me, I still prefer something more hydrating.
However, if my skin is at its optimal condition where its less dehydrated, this gel cream works fine with me.

 It has a cooling feeling which is quite refreshing on a hot and humid day like Singapore.

However, do take note that it does contain alcohol, something I found in all Etude House products which I have used so far.

Review : My Beauty Diary Platinum Nanocolloid Mask

Product Description

Recommended for dehydrated and dull skin, this mask from the luxury line boasts of being 100% fragrance and alcohol free. It has anti-aging, whitening and moisturising abilities.

I bought this box from Taiwan last year and have been using this quite regularly for these past 1.5weeks.

It comes in a pack of 6 sheets. Since its from the luxury line and more expensive than the normal range, I would have thought that the material of the sheet mask would be better but it tore quite easily when I was pulling it out of the packaging. Out of the 6 sheet masks, 3 have tore. Urgh, not a pleasant sight to behold.

It is fragrance free so I guess the scent from the mask is from one of the ingredients. I cannot tell what kind of fragrance is that but its not very pleasant to my nose. Size of the mask fits quite well on my face.

Serum is still quite generous which can last more than an hour. Face feels slightly sticky after the treatment which I tend to cleanse off with water.

Skin feels softer and hydrated but I think the Black Pearl Mask performs better in terms of hydration.

Face looks slightly brighter but I still feel that the White Peony Tea Mask and White Truffle Whitening Mask did a better whitening job.

Source : My Beauty Diary

Review: DHC Pack Sheet Eyes

Product Description
DHC Eye Pack Sheet is a gel-type eye mask that contains essence of olive leaf and botanical moisturizing ingredients. It sinks deep into skin and hydrates skin around eyes, leaving it radiant and elastic.

It may be left on the skin during sleep so as to give intensive care.

Made in Japan, a pack retails for $20.60 for 6 pairs. Quite affordable, considering that its made in Japan. These eye pack sheets are made of high-polymer gel infused with botanical brighteners as well as moisturisers. These handy under-eye strips soothe weary looking eyes and will rapidly diminish the appearance of dark circles and puffiness.

I picked up 2 boxes while in Taiwan last year as DHC was not available in Singapore that time. I cannot remember how much it costs then, but these eye masks are practically quite useless to my under eye area concerns.

I have been using it thrice a week for more than 3 weeks but there were no improvement at all.
Each pair is pasted on a white plastic flimsy paper which you can then tear out to adhere on the under eye area. Its dry and the texture of the patches is made of foamy thick material. You are supposed to stick on the eye area to provide moisturising abilities.

There is no scent and the patches feel slightly cooling and refreshing but thats about it.
Do I feel and see any difference? None at all.

Where To Purchase : Amazon | Yesstyle
DHC Rich Eye Zone Pack
DHC Revitalizing Moisture Sheet
DHC Eye Bright

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Review : Christian Dior 'Diorskin Nude' Natural Glow Hydrating Makeup

Product Description
A natural hydrating liquid foundation. Diorskin Nude Natural Glow Hydrating Makeup SPF 10 blends 100% natural mineral pigments with Dior's exclusive, active mineralized water to deliver flawless, glowing skin that actually improves over time. By using advances in mineral makeup technology, this product will take your complexion to a whole new level.
As fresh as water, this silky foundation envelops your skin in a precious halo of freshness and well-being that leaves the complexion evn, vibrant, satiny and glowing with natural beauty.

Mineralized water acts like a hydrating and energizing cocktail for the skin. Your complexion glows with intensity and dazzles with well-being. Your skin gradually becomes more beautiul.

I bought this at $65 in Shade 010, the lightest shade available in Singapore, from Robinsons way back in March. My make up usually can last me for a long time as I only use it over the weekends, hence $65 can still stretch me for a year or so.
A good friend of mine is an ardent fan of Dior products so she have been gushing excellent reviews over the products she had used. Actually, my first Dior product, a concealer purchase, started way before she was into Dior products, was not that fantastic but somehow, I got swayed by her reviews and started to take a closer look at Dior again.

I happened to stumble upon an advertisement for this liquid foundation in a magazine and subsequently checked it out at the counter. Anything with the word "hydrating" would have caught my attention.
Comes in a glass container, it exudes class and luxury, however I feared the day that it would break, should I accidentally dropped it.
With SPF 10, the sun protection factor is not exactly high but its better than nothing.

The texture is runny. It feels lightweight on the skin, with sheer to medium coverage. Its able to hide those minor blemishes and redness, giving the illusion of better skin. But then again, I expect all liquid foundation to be able to do a good job in this.
It also hydrates the skin better than other liquid foundation I have tried before. Flakiness on the skin were less obvious or disappeared, depending on how dehydrated my skin was, on that day. Just a note that, I have combination skin with dehydrated surface.

I usually use my fingers to blend this foundation into my skin as I found it easier than using a brush or sponge. It gives a natural dewy finish. Oil control is not that long lasting as I still need to blot the wings of my nose after about 4 hours of wear.
What I really like about this, is that it has a slight hydrating capability, its not the best, but its something I like in my make-up, as make-up tends to emphasize fine lines and dry patches on the skin.
You can check out the rest of the shades in Sephora

It scored 3.9/5 at Makeupalley by a whopping 309 users

Review : Laneige Clear C Effector

Product Description
Translucency booster containing Vitamin C from acerola. This vitamin C booster serum can remove dead skin cells, which is the key to attaining blemish-free, luminous, youthful skin.
Containing 30% Acerola extract, nature's richest source of Vitamin C, this anti-oxidant rich booster rejuvenates tired and stressed skin for a radiant complexion.

A great way to kickstart your skin care regime, the high concentration of Acerola helps to prep your skin and doubles the nutrient absorption from your skin care products.

How it works:
* Vitamin C from acerola gives you clean and clear skin.
* Orange, lemon, bilberry extracts smoothens your skin by maintaining translucency.
* Dead skin cells care is the foundation of clear and bright skin.

I bought this from the Laneige sale in April and only started using this in July. After 2 months of almost daily usage, its almost 50% used up.
This product scored a 3.3/5 from Makeupalley from 3 users.

It comes in a girly sweet pink transparent bottle with a pump to dispense the required amount onto the cotton pads. It has a light scent with a serum-type texture.
As the texture is serum and not liquid lotion type, it tends to just clump on the cotton pads, hence I tend to move my cotton pad slightly to allow the serum to wet the cotton pads before I swiped it over my skin.

Actually I hardly see any improvement to my skin tone with the continuous usage of this Effector. I do not find that I have better radiance or brighter skin tone.

However, recently I have some flakiness on the nose due to my eczema, and this product actually helps to clear away those flakes. So in a way, I would think that this is a mild way to clear those dead cells found on the skin surface but a weekly facial scrub is still required to clear away all the dead cells fully.

And it contains alcohol as the 3rd ingredient, not something good for the skin if used long term.

Where To Purchase : Shopee | Stylekorean

Review : Missha Hand Butter Hand Treatment Mask

Product Description
Pamper your hands with this ultra moisturising hand mask with butter

Directions For Use
1) Massage mask solution onto hands and wear gloves
2) Leave on for 20minutes and remove gloves
3) Massage hands to allow solution to absorb into skin. Do not rinse off.

A close friend of mine bought 1 sheet of this hand mask for me when she was in Korea a few months ago. It was pretty interesting to see that there are even masks for the hands. And recently, I decided to use it, seeing that my hands were pretty dry.
As you can see from the picture above, there are 2 sachets together. One sachet contains the hand glove mask wet with essence and the other sachet contains a pair of plastic gloves.
You are supposed to slip into the hand glove essence mask, followed by the plastic gloves. Instructions were in Korean so I am presuming this is how it works.

The 3 steps direction above were derived from this site but I am not sure if step 1 is true as in "massage mask solution onto hands".
There was a slight floral scent from the mask which is still alright but not exactly soothing to my senses.
It was a messy affair trying to slip in the wet essence mask followed by the plastic gloves onto my hands as its pretty wet and quite slippery. I need someone to help me with the plastic gloves as I have difficulty trying to slip on top of my wet essence mask gloves.
If I tried to do it myself, the plastic gloves would have become wet with essence too, which defeats its original purpose.

I had both the gloves for 30minutes before removing it. Sadly, there were no spectacular results to speak of. I thought I would have hydrated and softer hands immediately after the treatment or even on the next day but there were none.

Review : EO Shower Gel - Rose Geranium & Citrus

Product Description
Gently cleanses with pure essential oils & organic herbal blends. Our Coconut Oil Cleansing Complex is one of the most gentle yet effective lathering formulas available. No irritating sodium laurel/laureth sulfates. EO ShowerGel is formulated to preserve the potency of nourishing plant nutrients and essential oils. Our ShowerGel gently cleanses without drying the skin, making the moisturizing formula great for everyday showering and shaving. As with all EO products, our ShowerGels contain no irritating sodium lauryl/laureth sulfates and are made without artificial color or synthetic fragrance.

Benefits :
Rose Geranium Essential Oil has a balancing effect on the mind & body. We combine it with refreshing orange essential oil to create a blend that not only smells delicious, but also delights the senses to relieve stress & tension.

- Pure Rose Geranium Essential Oil is a balancing tonic for the mind and body.
- EO Shower Gel is a concentrated and moisturizing formula that gently cleanses and hydrates your skin.
- Our Organic Herbal Blend is formulated to soothe and soften your skin.
- Revitalizing Vitamin Complex (A and E) nourishes and protects your skin.
- Our Coconut Oil Cleansing Complex is the gentlest, most effective and richly foaming available. By now you probably know that we never use irritating sodium lauryl/laureth sulfates.
- Safe and gentle for the whole family.

I first came across this brand from a blogger who was using this and subsequently went ahead to get it from Dragon Dor at People's Park Complex. Its actually out of my budget as it costs between $16 to $18 for the 240ml size. Not a price which I would usually spent on shower gel products but well, I just wanted to try something with essential oils, that are considered good natural stuff for the skin and body.

240ml is actually quite a small bottle for me, because I used up shower gel pretty fast. This EO nourishing gel lathers pretty well with a very nice fragrance of rose geranium and cirtus. Totally in love with it. 

The gel texture is quite different from what I usually use. Most of my body washes I came across are usually in foam-based, cream-based or just liquid-based.

However, this gel comes across as lightweight and cleans the skin well, yet without leaving a greasy veil which I hated. Just pure clean fun with a fresh and light fragrance, which lingered for a short while after a bath.

Ingredients
Coconut cleansing complex, sodium myristoyl sarcosinate (made from coconut oil), sodium cocamphoacetate (made from coconut oil), guar (plant resin), wheat amino acids, lavender essential oil, tocopherol (Vitamin E), ascorbyl palmitate (Vitamin C), sodium hydroxymethylglycinate (Amino Acids), methyl/propylparaben (Preservative - less than 1%).

You can read more about the EO brand here, a Certified Organic Manufacturer of personal care products using the highest grade natural and certified organic ingredients.

Source : iherb

Review : Aubrey Organics Sparkling Mineral Water

Product Description
Refreshing complexion spray soothes and hydrates skin for a cool pick-me-up. Spray it over makeup to set it and under a moisturizer for better absorption, or use it in place of a face cream if your skin is very oily.

It hydrates skin with soothing herb and vitamins in a sparking mineral water and aloe vera blend.

I bought the 59ml travel sized bottle from Whoopeekiddies some time back. Its handy and convenient for me to bring it around in my bag.
Scoring 3.9/5 from 6 users in Makeupalley and 9/10 from 1 user in Total Beauty, its quite a winning product from most people who have used it.

It comes in a small portable 59ml bottle with a mist spray that spritz out a very fine mist. I tend to use alot as I found the mist to be too fine and too little for my face. Sometimes, it stings my eyes and suffocated my nose when I accidentally sprayed too much over those areas.
During my first few initial usages, I was totally put off by the herbal scent. It was pungent at that point in time, and I kinda wondered how I can finished using it.
But after using it for several weeks and months, I found the herbal scent to be quite soothing and uplifting whenever I used it.

This can be used in place of a toner or to set make-up. I usually used it either as a toner or for a quick pick me up and sometimes, to freshen my face when I felt that skin is oily.
I have also used it for my eyebrow trimming sessions to reduce the redness on my eyebrows but sadly it does not help in that aspect.
Despite what others have raved about the positive benefits of this spray mist, I found nothing spectacular about it. It does not really hydrates my combination with surface dehydrated but sensitive skin enough. Its working alright as a skin freshener or as a toner but I believe many other toners or facial mists can do a good job as well.
I also do not find that it calms or soothe my skin as claimed.

Many people have claimed that it does an excellent job in setting their mineral make-up so perhaps you can have a try. I do not own any mineral make-up and I do not really have a habit to set my make-up with a spray mist so its not on my to-do list.

Sparkling Mineral Water : Mineral-rich hydration
Organic Aloe Vera : Restores moisture balance; soothes
Vitamin B-Complex : Draws moisture to the skin
 
INGREDIENTS:
Natural Base of Sparkling Mineral Water, Organic Aloe Vera, Horse Chestnut Extract, Inositol, Linoleic Acid (Vitamin F), Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B-5); Extracts of Fennel, Hops, Balm Mint, Mistletoe, Camomile and Yarrow; Biotin, Aubrey’s Preservative (Citrus Seed Extract, Vitamins A, C and E), Oak Musk Oil
 
Source : Aubrey Organics

Review : Etude House Essence Mask - Collagen

Product Description
Etude House Essence Collagen facial mask tighten and rejuvenates the skin resulting in a more beautiful and younger looking skin.
An essence mask for skin tightening with collagen and rosemary extracts.

A friend bought this for me after a trip to Korea and this is my review after 1 sheet. It may not be a fair review as I cannot determine the long term benefits for this sheet mask.
There is a slight scent which I cannot describe but it falls between the pungent and the sweet-smelling scent.
The scent dissipated once the mask is layered on the face so its not a a big concern.
I actually do not really see any remarkable difference after using this mask.

Alcohol is the 5th ingredient in the list which seems to be the norm in all Etude Masks I have used so far. Its not good for the skin in the long term as it may have drying effects.

A better one to consider would be its Moistfull Mask even though it still has alcohol in its ingredients but you have softer skin to boast of, after each treatment.

Check out other popular collagen masks on Amazon
Etude House Moistful Collagen Mask Sheet
Etude House 0.2mm Therapy Air Mask - Collagen

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Review : Lioele Beyond Solution BB Cream

Lioele Beyond The Solution BB Cream has a soft feeling and creates clear and natural skin tone by being able to absorb effectively into skin. You can complete make-up speedily as it does not require any make up base or foundation. Its bisabolol, licorice acid derivatives and allantoin component soothe your skin and jojoba oil, macademia nut oil, hyauronic acid derivatives and marine collagen moisturised and smoothen your skin.

I ordered this via The Sample Store and 2 sachets were provided. It was my first time ordering from there even though I joined almost a year ago. Frankly speaking, I was not very pleased to be paying higher postage than necessary for just a small item but since I like to try out first before investing in the full size, it made economical sense for me to order them.
For serving such a large number of customers as seen on the web, I was surprised that the bubble wrap which came with the sachets was quite a hurried and unprofessional job done. Slanted and jagged edges were seen.
I like their concept of getting samples from the various brands so thats why I ordered from them. If you are interested, you can visit their web and signed up as a member. 2 sachets were able to give me about 12 to 15 times of usages.

This BB cream is marketed as a moisturiser, make-up base and foundation as one product, definitely a convenient product for those in a rush or for travelling purposes.

There is a slight floral scent which I found to be quite soothing but it soon dissipated once on the face.
On first glance, the colour was pretty dark for my skin. The BB creams which I came across were usually fairer than this. Surprisingly and amazingly, it blends well into my skin tone.

The texture is smooth, creamy and is quite easy to blend into the skin with my fingers. It has a thicker consistency than other BB creams I have used before. Even though some people have commented its difficult to blend with the fingers, I do find it a breeze to use my fingers to build up the coverage needed for my skin.
It was able to conceal blemishes and redness and skin looks brighter, smoother and more even-toned. It gives off a natural and dewy look, almost like I have better skin that it actually was.

Oil control was pretty good, at least for my combination skin. At the end of 10 hours, I still look like I have good skin. No oxidisation or oily face. It stayed matt thoughout. Isn't that awesome?
I am not very sure if it comes with SPF though, as its not stated anywhere on the sachet or on the website.
Quite a shame if it does not comes with SPF, else I would think this is an excellent product to have.

I like this BB cream very much and I would consider getting the retail size in John Little Stardust once I finished my current BB cream.
However, if you do prefer a lightweight formula, this one may not be for you.

Review : H20 Plus Marine Cleansing Gel

Product Description
An oil-free, water-based facial cleansing gel that foams away make-up and surface impurities while soothing skin with micro-encapsulated softening beads. Leaves skin feeling clean, clear and refreshed without stripping or drying. Sea Mineral Complex® helps maximize the delivery of hydrating marine extracts, including wakame, sea fennel, sea lettuce and acacia, which help maintain the skin's essential balance.- Removes dirt, debris, oil and make-up without drying the skin

- Foaming lather purifies and tones the skin
- Delivers essential hydration balance while smoothing skin texture

Ingredients :
Sea Mineral Complex®, Sea Fennel, Wakame, Sea Lettuce, Spirulina, Nori, Acacia

Its rare for my skin to be able to accept a cleanser without it making my face tight and this is one of them. I received it as a free gift when I was buying H20 products way back in March.
I simply love this lightweight cleanser, with a slight hint of the marine scent.
 
Considering that most of the H20 products I tried so far were quite disappointing, I was surprised that this gel cleanser suits my skin so well.

I usually used this after my make-up remover so I cannot comment how effective it is on removing make-up but it served me well as a gentle cleanser. It works in removing dirt and debris and leave my skin soft and smooth. No tightness on the skin at all. And its oil-free and water-based. Absolutely what I usually look for, in my products.

There are some blue microbeads in the gel cleanser which act in soothing the skin.

It scored 3.8/5 from 9 users from Makeupalley and 9.2/10 from 6 users from Total Beauty
Good stuff for the skin and I am loving it.

Shop on Amazon :
H20 Plus Marine Cleansing Gel

Source : H20

Review : The Beauty Diary White Truffle Fantastic Whitening Mask (Luxury Line)

Product Description
My Beauty Dairy White Truffle Fantastic Whitening Mask adopts French White Truffle and two whitening ingredients, Tranexamic Acid and SAP (Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate). This luxurious treatment helps brighten up dull, pale and uneven-toned complexion.
Blended with soothing and whitening extracts, including Rosehips, Mulberry and cactus, it helps remove old cuticles. As a result, rough skin and spots are corrected. It also helps optimize the whitening benefits for translucent, white and flawless skin. Skin reveals translucent white after use. It brightens skin and softens spots.

Another series from the luxury line, this is yet another whitening mask recommended for dull skin.
Similar to the White Peony Tea Mask, this sheet mask is soaked in essence and does not dried up even after an hour on the face.
It has a light chemical scent which I do not quite like, but its a minor dislike factor considering that it is able to give immediate brightening effect after each treatment. It is hydrating and gives a soft dewy glow to the skin.
Definitely value for money!

My skin does feel slightly sticky after the treatment though, which I would just cleanse with water.

5 skincare secrets from Robin Niu

Getting Rid of Oil
"Having oily skin doesn't automatically make you prone to blemishes. In fact, pimples, acne, whiteheads and blackheads are caused by the build-up of several different factors, including hormones, bacteria and dead skin cells," says Robin.

"You'll be surprised but a facial cleansing oil is way better at removing surface excess oil and impurities than any other kind of cleanser while protecting your skin's delicate moisture balance.
"It is also the simplest way to clear up acne and blemishes as well as remove hardened oil plugs in pores that cause whiteheads and blackheads."

Ditch Dullness
Recover smooth, translucent and glowing skin with a few swipes of a gentle exfoliating lotion-soaked facial cotton pad.

"All the exposure to environmental aggressors like the sun and pollution depletes your skin of the oxygen it needs to stay looking fresh, young and healthy, leading to dullness," says Robin.
"Other culprits that rob your skin of natural radiance and make it dull and lifeless include stress, fatigue, smoking, drinking lots of alcohol, poor circulation, accumulated dead skin cells, dirt and oil."

Minimise Pores
Enlarged pores can be due to the natural ageing process or heavy sebum production. As the latter forces pores to expand in order to release the oil, they can easily become clogged and infected, leaving you with coarse skin.

"For some of us, enlarged pores are a daily cosmetic annoyance that prevents flawless makeup application and leaves our skin extra shiny," says Robin.

Fight Dryness
"Dry skin has nothing to do with the lack of your skin's natural oils. It is due to genetics, diet or environment as well as moisture loss in skin," says Robin.
 
Improve Your Features
ROBIN'S TIP:
Use an eyelash curler beforehand to lengthen the curling power of your lashes
Esprique Precious dual Lip Pencil which has
- Lip concealer to correct an uneven skin tone and smoothen the corners of the mouth. Its powdery texture creates a firm, flexible film that prevents smudging.
- Lip liner to control the form and 3-D appearance of lips with its pearlescent effect. Used on the centre of the lower lip before or after lip colour, it plumps your pout. Applied to the V of the upper lip, it makes your lips more provocative
 
Source : Her World

Review : Redken Real Control Intense Renewal Super Moisturizing Mask

Product Description
Intense moisture and discipline to transform the texture of hair.

Benefits :
- Ultra-rich, deep conditioning mask intensely moisturizes while helping control and repair extremely dense, dry hair
- Instantly detangles and improves combability so hair resists breakage
- Provides intense discipline, smoothing control and internal strength
- Hair texture is transformed with increased manageability and shine

Redken’s exclusive Interbond Conditioning System and powerful Care-Adjust Complex allow you to customize a product regimen suitable to the level of moisture, repair and control that your clients' hair needs. Hair is sleek, sultry and transformed with luscious shine.
 
A complimentary 50ml size was given to me from Testerbar when I signed up as a member a couple of months ago. I have been using it regularly for the past 1.5 months.
Initially, I started off using it on a weekly basis as I treated it as a pampering treat for my tresses over the weekend. Thereafter, I thought I should use it as a daily conditioner basis to assess the effectiveness.
 
There was a chemical fragrance, which reminded me more of the salon type. However, it does not really linger much on the hair. The texture is quite unusual for a hair mask. Not very fluid, but feels and looks like a hard cream.
Recommended for 5 to 15 minutes on the hair, I usually leave it for like 5 minutes on the hair ends or rather, 1/4 of my hair length after my shampoo. Note that, quite alot of the contents are needed for the hair so I believe my tube should be finishing quite soon.
 
It does leave my hair feeling softer to the touch and lesser frizziness. Manageable looser curls and lesser volume. My inner hair shaft is usually quite badly tangled and I do not find that this hair mask helps in that aspect though.
For your information, I have long, wavy thick coarse hair. Slightly damaged ends, due to chemical treatment so I have been refraining from any hair colouring jobs for this year.
 
It has quite impressive reviews from Total Beauty and Makeupalley.
10/10 from 2 users at Total Beauty and 4.1/5 from 33 users from Makeupalley
 
Main Ingredients :
Cationic Conditioners - Moisture & Nourishment
Protein / Ceramide - Internal Strength & Repair
Shea Butter - Smoothing Frizz Control

Ingredients :
Aqua/Water, Cetearyl Alchol, Behentrimonium Chloride, PEG-180, Candelilla Cera/Candelilla Wax, Amodimethicone Cetyl Esters, Parfum/Fragrance, Methylparaben, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Trideceth-6, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter/Shea Butter, Benzyl Salicylate, Chlorhrxidine Dihydrochloride, Cetrimonium Chloride, Butylphenyl, Limonene, 2-Oleamido-1, 3-Octadecanediol, Citronellol, Oleth-10, Disodium Cocoamphodipropionate, Lecithin

Source : Redken
Ingredient source : Little Golden Lamb

Collective Haul

My collective haul for the past month.
Sato Hakubi Memoto eye masks at $7.35 for 2 boxes at Nishino Pharmacy.
Juju Aquamoist facial masks, Skinvitals Eye Brighten and C-Brighten, Ginvera Whitening Marvel Gel, Botanical Choice eye masks from Watsons.
Bought the Bioessence eye masks at just $1.95 per piece at Watsons today. My all time favourite.
Clean and Clear oil and dirt remover sheets at $1.95 too.
Elianto eye treatment masks and Maybelline eyeshadow from Kuala Lumpur over the weekend.

Review : My Beauty Diary White Peony Tea Mask (Luxury Line)

Product Description
A combination of Japanese mask material, the latest nano biotechnology applied on a dual adaption, and infused with 100% fragrance-and alcohol-free gentle essence, this product improves your skin in moisturizing, brightening and bringing holistic beauty!

The special fabric membrane, which is highly intimate and soft, is introduced from Japan to enhance absorption, and it is totally free from any intoxication ingredients of alcohol and perfume, being most pure and gentle.

It has combined dual-capsulation mechanism as micro-"particle capsulation" and "multiple layer capsulation" so that permanent softening and moisture-retaining factors of skin are wrapped in layers. Then, these ingredients are released to skin through controlling mechanism progressively.

The product has extracted tea-leaves from the precious species of white tea "White Peony" from Sri Lanka, and element of arbutin-- high-tech whitening element to create the golden triangle recipe for skin refreshing and whitening.

Benefits : Whitening, Improving Dull Skin Tone and Soothing
 
This is another set which I bought from Taiwan. Containing 6 pieces in each box, it claims to be able to deliver whitening benefits, hence making your skin look more radiant.
And the fact is, it truly delivers even with just 1 mask.
 
I can see the immediate effect after each treatment. Skin appears brighter and almost a shade lighter.
The scent is quite mild and the sheet size fits my face shape perfectly. Texture of the mask sheet is pretty good and is fully soaked in essence which I layered on the face for almost an hour, without it being dried up.
Face does feel sticky with essence after the treatment though but can be easily rinsed off with water, laving brighter and softer skin. Pores appeared smaller too.
 
A good affordable whitening mask!
 
Source: Weibichi

Review : L'Occitane Aromachologie Artemisia Hair Shampoo

I bought the trio set of shampoo and conditioner in its miniature sizes of 40ml each when I was in Las Vegas 2 years ago. I have since used off the 2 of them without reviewing them and this last remaining bottle is actually not really suitable for my hair.

 
I was saving them for one of those short weekend getaway for convenience sake. I got them at quite a steal for about US$12 for a set of trio.

It comes in an almost transparent green plastic bottle with a silver cap which flipped upwards.
Filled with artemisia essential oil, its recommended for normal and fine hair to leave it shiny and lustrous.

 
I am surprised that I would hate something with essential oil, I always imagine that essential products would be one of those spa relaxing scents but somehow this shampoo stinks big time. Perhaps its just me but I really hated the scent.

That said, it lathers well, not too much, not too little. Just right.

I may not be the best person for this review because I have thick and coarse hair. This shampoo can be said to be too mild for it. I did not find it particularly detangling, however, it did  keep the hair clean and soft. Note that I did not even follow up with any conditioner so I am truly impressed that it manage to keep my hair soft where most shampoos are unable to do so, without a conditioner.

It received 3.7/5 from 19 users at Makeupalley with 68% willing to buy them again.
This shampoo has since been discontinued and replaced with a voluminzing shampoo with 5 essential oils.

Ingredients :
Ingredients: Aqua/water - disodium laureth sulfosuccinate - tea-lauryl sulfate - laureth 2 - laurdimonium hydroxypropyl hydrolyzed wheat protein - peg-120 methyl glucose duiolfate - cinchona succrubra bark estract - sodium chloride - peg/ppg-14/4 dimethicone - propylene glycol - coco-glucoside - glyceryl olfate - parfum/fragrance - panthenol - polyquaternium-7 - polyquaternium 10 - linalool - artemisia hera - alba/artemisa vulgaris extract - citrus aurantium amara (bitter orange) oil - methylchlorodisothlazolinone - methylisothiazolinone